Of course, that means being available and responsive to the media when they do call you. “When they call, you call them back,” Strong says. “You have to respect their deadlines.”
Father & Son Construction, in Troy, Mich., has done several projects in conjunction with Detroit television stations, ranging from fixing a door that police had broken down in pursuit of a bank robber to a room addition for a family adopting special-needs children. In almost all cases, the TV stations told company owner Mat Vivona Jr. the situation and asked if he could help. He was more than happy to oblige, and the subsequent stories on the local news provided him with benefits beyond the warm feelings of having done a good deed. “When two different stations view you as the person who knows their stuff,” Vivona says, it holds significant credibility with homeowners.
Strong says that it’s important to be proactive. “Get involved in the community,” he says. “Reach out to the design community, write letters to the editor. You can’t stay home and be the go-to guy.”
Media Mighty Michael Strong, of Brothers Strong in Houston, is in a fairly unique position when it comes to his presence in the community. Along with Robert “Bob” Birner, he co-hosts “The Remodeling Pro Radio Show,” which is broadcast live for two hours every Sunday morning.
Strong says that during the nearly two years he’s been on the air, he has only received a handful of leads who called because they heard him on the radio. However, “it has really increased our credibility when we go on our sales calls,” he says. “When we tell people we’re co-hosts, we suddenly have this trust factor.”
Birner, vice president and general manager of Amazing Siding Corp. and Renewal by Andersen Window and Door Replacement, in Houston, echoes his co-host. “It’s like a third-party endorsement, where I’m the third party.”
Both Strong and Birner point to the responsibility of being a public figure as crucial to their credibility. “It gives the consumer peace of mind to think that we could be called on the carpet every week, but never are,” Birner says.
Rosie Romero Jr., whose radio show, “Rosie on the House,” has been on the air in Arizona for nearly 20 years, says more of the same. “Within a few years [of starting the show], I could hardly go anywhere [locally] and say my name and not have someone recognize me,” he says. “If I went to the hardware store, I’d be there for two and a half hours helping people buy supplies. I started going to a store 30 miles outside of town because it saved me time.”